Browsing by Author "Dhlomo, Rosemond Mbaliyezwe."

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    A health promoting mutual-aid group for carers of terminally-ill persons
    (2003) Dhlomo, Rosemond Mbaliyezwe.; Edwards, S.D.
    Caring for an ill person, especially a terminally ill person can be a rewarding yet equally stressful experience. An organisation of carers (mutual-aid group) provides a support system responsive to the special problems of carers, including discussion groups, which are responsive to the inadequacies in the ongoing lives of carers, in promoting mental health. Mutual-aid groups fall within the social action model of community psychology, which aims to promote personal empowerment, defined as the process of gaining influence over events and outcomes of importance to an individual or group. This model is a shift in intervention from prevention to empowerment and from needs to rights. Mutual aid groups are built around such values as co-operation, shared experience, personal responsibility and mutual help in the achievement of a common end. The present study was in line with the aims of health promotion at a tertiary level, which are to improve solutions for living and increase health, strength, skill and human rights for carers of the terminally ill, in very empowering contexts. The present research followed up on the recommendations by Dhlomo (2000) that more groups catering for the caretakers of people labeled as abnormal should be formed to promote health at a tertiary level. The aims of this thesis were to elicit needs from a group of carers of the terminally-ill, form and evaluate an ongoing mutual-aid group program and especially promote the variables of empowerment and carer effectiveness. It was hypothesised that this mutual-aid group program for carers of the terminally-ill persons would result in improvement of the above-mentioned variables. Eleven carers committed themselves to be available for the mutual aid group. In line with the social action model, this was a participatory, action research, program-evaluation type of design, where co-researchers (carers) jointly defined the aims of their group, themes to be discussed and the meanings of such variables as empowerment and carer-effectiveness. Psychological techniques used in the present study included a biographical inventory, needs analysis questionnaire, power maps, carer effectiveness rating scale and program evaluation interview guide. The participants pre- and post- tested themselves on the variables of empowerment and carer-effectiveness. The group ran for a contracted period of six weeks and the members met twice each week. The study realised its aims and research hypotheses. The research encouraged voluntary community participation. It operated on the principle of non-coerciveness, non-hierarchy, decentralisation, spontaneous leadership and it took into account members' psychological issues. From sessions themes which were presented and analysed, it was evident that the study yielded positive results. It led to participants feeling confident and effective in their role of caring. Participants were empowered in that they were involved in the designing of the program, leading sessions and gaining influence over events and outcomes of importance to them. The mutual-aid group program empowered participants to be able to empower other carers, as most of the participants in the present research committed themselves to starting more groups of the same kind. In that way, they will be cascading the skills and knowledge they gained from the group.
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    Health promotion with a single parents self-help group
    (2000) Dhlomo, Rosemond Mbaliyezwe.; Edwards, S.D.
    Single parenting has become very common today due to having a child illegitimately, death of spouse, separation, and high rate of divorce. Single parent families are subject to many forms of economic and psychological stress. For example, they result in the creation of non-custodial parents, whose contact with their children is often irregular and unrewarding. The quality of interpersonal relationships with others makes the difference in coping or not coping during the first five years of being a single parent. An organization of single parents (self-help group) provides a support system responsive to the special problems of single parents, including discussion groups, which are responsive to the inadequacies in the ongoing lives of single parents, in promoting mental health. Self-help groups fall within the social action model of community psychology which aims to promote personal empowerment defined as the process of gaining influence over events and outcomes of importance to an individual or group. This model is a shift in intervention from prevention to empowerment and from needs to rights. The present research has been motivated by the World Health Organisation's 'target for all* document and the Ottawa Charter for action to achieve health for all by the year 2000 (presented at the first international conference on health promotion in November 1986). It has also been a motivation to note a commitment and emerging progress by health professionals and psychologists in mounting an array of health promotion and prevention programs. The aims of the study were to elicit needs from a group of single parents, form and evaluate an ongoing self-help group program and promote the following variables: psychological health, empowerment andparent effectiveness. It was hypothesized that the self-help group program for single parents will result in improvement of the mentioned variables. The researcher called for volunteers to join the group. Eight single parents committed themselves to be available for most sessions, seven of whom were females. The researcher made use of the following psychological techniques : biographical inventory, needs analysis questionnaire, global assessment of functioning scale, power maps, parenting skills rating scale, and program evaluation interview guide. In line with the social action model, this was a participatory action-research, program-evaluation type of design, where single parent co-researchers jointly defined the aims of their group, the themes to be discussed and the meanings of such variables as psychological health, empowerment and parent-effectiveness. The participants were pre- and post- tested on the above variables- The group ran for a contracted period of five weeks and the members met twice each week. The study realised its aims and the hypotheses were not rejected. The main strength of the research is that it encouraged community participation. The themes from sessions have been presented and analysed and it is evident that the study yielded positive results. It questioned the way the participants have been doing things and the reasons they did them. It led to them changing their attitudes toward their accustomed styles of parenting. This was interpreted as empowerment as they were gaining influence over events and outcomes of importance to them. The single parents self-help group empowered participants to be able to empower other single parents as the eight participants in the present research committed themselves to starting more groups of the same kind. In that way, they will be cascading the skills and knowledge they gained from the group.